


Turn Off The Dark

by TheCrampReturns



Series: Sunflowers at Sundown [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Character tags to be updated as the story progresses, F/M, Sequel, Sundown Universe (are we calling it a universe?)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 05:51:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14230704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrampReturns/pseuds/TheCrampReturns
Summary: A year after Lillie’s departure at the end of Sundown, she and Elio/Holtz/Sun have fallen into their own routines, mostly involving a lot of battles, and a lot of trying and failing to not think about each other.  The sudden appearances of new faces (as well as some familiar ones) throw both of heroes for a loop in some very personal ways, while also presenting some pretty big external consequences.





	Turn Off The Dark

**Author's Note:**

> GUESS WHO’S BACK, BABIES!?!
> 
> A refesher:
> 
> Beady=Incineroar  
> Magno=Toucannon  
> Ed=Haunter  
> Irma=Persian  
> Simon=Granbull  
> Nebby=Lunala  
> Sanchez=Slowbro  
> Harris=Metagross  
> Jumbo=Hariyama  
> Erin=Mimikyu

Beady loved being the champ. 

He’d loved fighting in general, really. Always had. At least, it sure felt like he had; he didn’t remember much before he’d met Holtz, and didn’t feel much need to. Meeting that boy was the first time Beady had ever felt the true rush of battle. With Holtz, there was no fighting just to survive like in the wild. No, no, no, Holtz fought for the fun of fighting. For the fun of winning! From day one the kid’s energy proved infectious, and it had changed something in Beady. He threw his whole body into a fight, scratching, punching, and kicking harder, yelling louder, and brimming with more pure energy than he would have without Holtz jumping about, shadowing his movements, throwing barbed comments, howling, or giggling, or dancing behind him.

Beady knew it wasn’t just him, either; as they picked up more traveling companions, the Incenaroar got an outside view as Magno, Ed, Jumba, and the rest all ended up in the same boat. Even Sanchez was energized by Holtz’ aura in battle, and he was a Slowbro.

Holtz made fighters out of every Pokémon he caught. He made them champions. He made them winners.

And damn did it feel good to win.  
That hadn’t changed in the year since the became champions. Not for Beady, at least. Holtz was a different. Beady made note of the way Holtz deflated slightly whenever the present challenger to the throne failed to beat him.  
The boy shook off his disappointment before his opponent could spot it, quickly walking up to the challenger and patting her on the shoulder.  
“Not gonna lie, I honestly thought you’d be the one to take me down. Not sure I don’t still do. That was a heck of a fight, is what I’m getting at. A little more training and you might just have me on the ropes next time, yeah?”

The Lass beamed at Holtz, nodding vigorously before running off, shouting her thanks as she went off to heed his advice. Beady, meanwhile, simply rolled his eyes before rising to his hind legs and elbowing Holtz.  
“What?” the boy asked defensively. “Ok, so maybe I laid it on a bit thick. What can I say? Positive reinforcement keeps them coming back. Plus, she DID actually knock Irma and Harris out. That takes some doing.”  
Beady shrugged, admitting silently that the girl wasn’t their easiest opponent.

“Speaking of which,” Holtz said as he pulled out a pokeball and ride pager, “you should hop in here. That was the last match of the day, and we need to get you guys to a Pokémon Center before we head home.”

Beady grumbled at the insinuation that he wasn’t in tip top shape, but did as instructed anyway. Time inside their pokeballs had gotten progressively rarer for Holtz’ whole party over the past year; it basically happened only when they needed to travel quickly over large distances, or when some party members decided it made for a more comfortable sleep. Holtz’ seemed to enjoy his party’s company too much to not have them all hanging around freely whenever possible, and as a result Beady wasn’t remotely surprised when he and the rest (Holtz’ party for that day specifically entailed himself, Magno, Erin, Harris, Ed, and Irma) were released right outside the front door to the Holtzmann residence.

While Harris opted to stay outside for the moment, the rest of the gang rushed inside the moment Holtz opened the door. Irma pounced on the family Meowth, the two having long ago taken a curious interest in each other, while Erin and Beady made for the fridge and Ed floated off to do who knows what in Holtz’ room.

“Of course, just go straight for the food.” Holtz snarked. “Save some for me this time, please?”

Opening the fridge, Beady could only chuckle in response. The boy was going to have to beat them to the ping if he wanted more than scraps.

“Can you believe these guys?” Holtz asked Magno, who had perched on the kitchen counter. “Aye aye aye. Mom, I’m home!”

“Hello Holtz!” came a voice that was definitely NOT Holtz’ mother. 

The boy himself nearly leapt out of his skin, whirling around on the voice to see a familiar blue-haired figure. 

“Jeez, Lana!” he griped. “What’re you doing in my house?”

“Visiting your mom.” Lana said with a casual shrug. “I don’t know why you’re still surprised, we’ve been hanging out for a while. She’s a nice lady.”

Both Holtz and Magno found their gaze moving to Lana’s hand, which was stroking none other than a placid Sanchez. 

“Oh man, I forgot we left you here again.”

“It’s a good thing you did.” Lana opined, the Slowbro yawning gratefully. “He’s been great company.”

“Is that my baby?” came a third voice, this time affirmatively belonging to Mrs. Holtzmann, who entered the kitchen and quickly swept Holtz and Magno into her arms, ignoring the Toucannon’s annoyed expression as she kissed both on the head. “And the rest of you?”

Heeding the matriarch’s words, the rest of the present Pokémon joined Holtz and his mother for a group hug. A metal pang sounded outside, alerting Ms. Holtzmann to Harris, who she quickly rushed outside to hug as well.

“You’ve got a weird way of running things in this house.” Lana muttered, she and Holtz watching his mother share hugs and kisses with the Metagross outside.

“Tch. You’re one to talk.”

“Now don’t be that way, Sunny Honey.” came Ms. Holtzmann as she strolled inside. Sitting down to eat, Beady snickered at the cutesy nickname for his trainer, only to seize up slightly as Ms. Holtzmann lightly swatted him on the ear. “So! Is my son still the champion.”

“If he wasn’t I imagine he’d be halfway to Kanto by now.” Lana stated matter-of-factly.

Holtz smirked at the girl, then at his mother. “She knows me.”

Ms. Holtzmann considered this, before she asked “Do you ever think perhaps you work your party too hard, Sun?”

Holtz and Beady exchanges a look, before both burst out laughing. Holtz’ mother could only roll her eyes.

“I suppose that answers that.”

“Please, Ma. Beady here would slice me to ribbons himself if I didn’t give him a good fight on the daily. Plus, I alternate the rest of the party regularly, and some time to relax is why I bring ‘em all here in the first place. Speaking of which-“

Holtz stood up an whistled loudly, alerting his compatriots that it was time to head to the beach. 

Time not spent battling or practicing for battle inevitably led to the party spending time together on the beach or in town. This normally excluded Sanchez, who as per usual opted to stay home and be doted on by Holtz’ Mother and her frequent quest. Beady leaned against a nearby boulder with a grin, watching the antics of Erin and Simon as they engaged in a game of tag. Close by, Ed floated sneakily up to a lounging Irma and spooked them with a Lick that sent the Persian rushing up the nearest tree.

Beady’s rowdy laughter at the sight was stifled by the arrival of Magno, who perched beside him. The Toucannon made no noise, simply staring toward the shore and passively prompting Beady to follow his line of sight. Doing so, Beady’s face fell as he saw the silhouette of their trainer. The boy sat on the shore, sneakers laying to his left while Nebby floated on his right. The boy and the massive legendary stared out into the horizon, seemingly in their own little world.

Magno and Beady glanced at each other. This was also a daily occurrence. Holtz would sneak off during the party’s fun times, get Nebby out of the PC, and the pair of them would isolate themselves from the rest of the party and gaze off into the sunset. Nebby pining for his mother, Holtz pining for his partner. Then, after anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, Holtz would stand, pat Nebby on the wing, and the two would head back home, Holtz signaling the rest of the party to follow. Whenever they were staying at Holtz’ home, the boy and his mother would insist that the whole party (with the exception of Nebby) sleep in his room, outside of their pokeballs.

So it happened that night, with Holtz lightheartedly chastising Ed for his practical joke at Irma’s expense and congratulating Erin for beating Simon at their game.  
Ed would end up getting a more earnest talking to shortly afterward, when Holtz discovered the numerous crayon scribbles littering the walls of his room.

The next morning Beady was awoken by a familiar voice from outside his window. Sitting up and looking outside, he grinned at the sight of Hau waiting with his ever-present smile.

“Hey Cuz!” Hau yelled upwards, prompting Beady to rouse Holtz awake with a light kick. The boy arose and went over to the window, greeting Hauie before alerting the other Pokemon to return to their pokeballs.

“Malasadas?” He called out the window.  
“Malasadas!” Hau answered back.

Beady went into the confinement of his pokeball along with the others, eager to be released again when it was time to work.

 

Hau was a simple guy; the kind who would be happy with the clothes on his back and nothing else. He occasionally forgot that Holtz wasn’t the same type of guy, but all it would take to remind him was the question Holtz asked without fail almost every time they met.

“You planning on beating me today?”

Hau grinned, leaning against the walls of the Pokemon center and taking another bite out of his Malasada. He had joined Holtz as he decided to pull Veler and Jumba onto the party, fully prepared for this question.

“Today? Nah. I think I’m just gonna watch you work. Take some notes, plan some countermoves, that sorta thing.”

At this, Holtz gave a friendly laugh. “Wow. You, strategizing? If I didn’t know better I’d say you were finally learning something.” He took a bite of his own snack and chewed it down. “Seriously though, hurry up and get good. At this point I’m fine losing to anyone but...if it had to be anyone, you’re my preferred choice.”

Hau’s smile got wider at the compliment. He didn’t need to ask why Holtz was in such a hurry to lose a match (and by extension his Champion title). Since the day he got the job Holtz had viewed it as just as much a chain around his neck as an honorable title and responsibility. The constant rate at which he was challenged meant Holtz was confined to the same daily routine, and until he lost the position would only ever hold Holtz back from what he really wanted.

From who he really wanted.

From Lillie.

“You know...” Hau started, “you could finally take me up on my offer to throw a match...”

“Pfft” Holtz giggled, before growing a tad serious. “Yeah, right. Lillie worked just as hard as I did to get me here. If I don’t give my all in every match, well...that’s just an insult, isn’t it?”

Hau simply nodded as Holtz logged off his PC, the two leaving the center and walking toward the League Stadium. 

“Do you ever think maybe Lillie might want to see you more than she wants you to worry about your...integrity, I guess?”

“Wow Hauie, keep it up and I might think you’re serious.”

“I’m just saying that sometimes it seems like you’re putting yourself between a rock and a hard place, you know?” Hau went on, feeling as though he should have a better grasp on his friends thought process after so long, but unable to say he had found one. “Like you really really want to get back to her but also...don’t.”

At that, Holtz whirled on Hau wordlessly, and the former found himself quieting. He’d said something wrong, hadn’t he? Holtz eyes couldn’t be read behind his signature pair of thick sunglasses, but Hau could guess what his expression might be saying; ‘Open mouth, insert foot. Classic Hauie.’

Instead of saying anything, Holtz adjusted his sunglasses and turned back around, making his way to his first challenger of the day. “Don’t try to psychoanalyze me Hau. My feelings tend to get a bit more complicated than yours.”

Hau thought for a moment, before shrugging to himself and following again. Well, he wasn’t wrong.

 

Once all was settled and Hau and Holtz stood upon the battlefield, waiting for the first challenger, Holtz released Beady and took to psyching him up for the match. The big cat grinned as the boy led him in jumping jacks, punches, and other bouts of movement, Hau watching the display with a grin on his face. 

“You ready!?” He yelled, to which Beady responded by roaring in his face.

“Yeah?”

ROAR!

“Yeah?!” 

ROAR!

“ALRIGHT! Let’s go!” Holtz gave a couple of punches to Beady’s chest before pointing dramatically at the big entrance to the arena. “Bring in the first challenger, baby!”

A moment of relative silence passed, before a very confused looking man wandered into the doorframe. The man looked to either side of him, taking his time and not making to move closer to the arena. At the top of the stairs, Holtz waited another moment before lowering his finger and raising an impatient eyebrow at Beady.

“Is this it?” the man muttered, quietly enough that Beady figured Holtz couldn’t even hear. Turning to his trainer, the cat could tell by the way he squinted that Holtz could hardly see the man, let alone hear him.

“Uh, HEY!” the boy shouted, drawing the man’s attention and making Hau cover his ears at the sudden volume. “Sorry, Hauie... YOU HERE TO SEE THE CHAMPION?”

“Um...” the man said, before catching on that he too should probably raise his voice. “YEAH.”

“AWESOME! YOU’RE LOOKING AT HIM!”

“Oh...” Beady could see the man’s eyes widen. “Er...HI!”

“YEAH, HI! LOOK, DO YOU WANNA MOVE CLOSER SO WE CAN STOP YELLING? AND YOU KNOW, BATTLE AND STUFF!”

 

“OH RIGHT, SORRY. I-I I’VE BEEN GOING ABOUT THIS ALL WRONG. JUST GIVE ME A SECOND.”

As he ran up the stairs, Beady had to question what this man’s malfunction was. Turning once again to his trainer, he could tell Holtz was thinking the same thing. That is, until the man got closer, and Holtz’ eyes widened, and Beady wasn’t too sure WHAT was in his mind at that point. Holtz held an expression Beady had never seen on him or anyone else, and before Beady could question his trainer, Holtz took off like a rocket, leaving both Beady and Hau in his dust.

He sprinted down the stairs toward the man, who now that he was closer was growing a clear grin on his face as he approached. Beady only had a split second to note that his face looked quite a bit like Holtz’ own before the boy in question met the man at the edge of the arena and slugged him square in the jaw.

Beady’s own jaw nearly hit the floor, along with Hau’s, as the man almost fell backwards down the stairs before steadying himself. He rubbed his sore jaw, giving Holtz an incredulous look before winding up and punching the boy right back.

“...OW!” Holtz yelled, hand covering his eye. That got Hau moving.

Beady, of course, got moving faster. In the few seconds it took for both Holtz and the newcomer to hop from foot to foot as they groaned and nursed their wounds, Beady rushed over to the latter in a red blur, grasping his windpipe in his paw and lifting him off the ground.

“Whoa, whoa!” came the man’s choked voice. “Ack! I think you might be overreactions here~ *gasp*”

The man’s prattling only made Beady glare and squeeze tighter. Hau running to protest the needless violence from all sides did little to quell Beady’s protective instinct.

“Why’d you punch me!” Holtz yelled, still covering his eye.

“Why’d YOU punch ME?” the man cried as best he could in Beady’s hold.

“Oh, I wonder why.” Holtz sniped. “Couldn’t possibly have anything to do with being abandoned for years! Does this look swollen to you?”

The question was directed at Beady, who observed Holtz eye after lifting his hand away. The cat breathed a sigh of relief and shook his head, Holtz’ eye looking no noticeably worse for wear. Both then turned to the man, who’s face was rapidly becoming blue. 

“Guys!” Hau said, getting Holtz’ attention but not Beady’s. “Let him go! This is wrong! Who even is this guy?”

Holtz glared first at Hau, then at the man, bit answering his friend’s question. He waited another moment, his eyes narrowing further, before groaning loudly and patting Beady on his free arm. With that simple prompting, Beady dropped the man to the floor, who had a coughing fit for a whole minute before looking up at the beast with watery eyes.

“...Thanks.” he said hoarsely.

“What the hell?” Holtz muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What...the HELL are you doing here, Dad?”

**Author's Note:**

> So, I made a couple of promises at the end of last story, one of which was that I would finally finally finally finally update my long dormant non-Pokemon fic How to Make Friends and Curse People. As you can see, that didn’t end up happening, and a large part of that was a combination of writer’s block, and this being among the most stressful semesters of school I’ve ever had.
> 
> The semester’s still not over yet, so even though I’ve now firmly committed to finally posting this sequel (and I apologize so, SO much for making you all wait th this long), it’s still probably going to be slow goings as far as updates. That’s also assuming I don’t get sidetracked and start writing My Hero Academia fanfiction out of nowhere seeing as that show and certain pairings within it have become my new obsession.
> 
> Anyway, I implore you once again to be patient with me, and in return I can only cross my fingers and hope I give you a story that satisfies as much as last time. All that said, here’s some interesting points of, er, interest, regarding this first chapter:  
> *This was initially beta read by BraviaryScout, who’s been a really supportive follower of the last story and who’s own Sun/Lillie fic ‘A Hui Hou Kakou, K'ou Alola’ I wholeheartedly recommend.  
> *For the longest time I was torn over whether I actually wanted to start with this chapter, or do the Marvel acinematic Universe thing and open with a prologue that’ll be relevant to future events. Unfortunately, the wording for the proposed prologue just wasn’t coming to me, and I’ll probably end up incorporating my ideas for it in an upcoming chapter (possibly even the very next one).  
> *For whatever reason it took like a million years to come up with this thing’s title. In the end for reasons that will become clear later (if they’re not already obvious) I ended up just cribbing from a subpar Broadway musical. Because that’s how I ROLL.  
> *Sundown was pretty exclusively (and very deliberately) locked to Lillie’s perspective of events. I thought an interesting point of contrast for the sequel would be to jump from different POV’s without necessarily ever doing 1st person. The intent with this chapter was to mainly be Beady’s POV, plus a little bit of Hau’s, and I’m curious how effectively that came across to you guys.
> 
> Sound off in the comments over that, or anything you might have to say over this chapter. Heck, if I’m in a good mood I may even be open to some suggestions of what you guys want to see happen in this story. I have plenty of ideas that are going to happen no matter what of course, but without no game story to stick close to (I thought about it, and I’m not doing Rainbkw Rocket), I’m pretty flexible over what could happen outside of certain beats.  
> Also don’t be afraid to let me know if you guys are bothered by anything like paragraph structure or the like. I’m improving in that regard, but my grasp of that always slips when I’m writing dialogue heavy stuff like this.
> 
> R&R, and I’ll see you for the next one, however far off that is.


End file.
